The road to the Masters is a long way from Augusta National
Augusta National (Getty Images)
Canadian Press
This is no ordinary road to the Masters.
Instead of the tropical warmth of Florida in the spring, it starts in the hot desert air of Nevada in October.
Instead of a series of PGA Tour events some 500 miles south of Augusta National with an occasional detour into Texas, this road starts 2,000 to the west, heads out to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and then back over to Houston.
What hasn’t changed is the top players are back in action with Georgia on their minds.
It starts Thursday with the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek, typically held in South Korea and now part of an Asia swing that moved this year to the western U.S. because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Four of the top five players in the world are at Shadow Creek, with top-ranked Dustin Johnson pulling out after his positive test for the coronavirus.
It’s different, just like the entire year in just about every sport.
Rory McIlroy thinks Shadow Creek might be even better than what Florida offers because of the bentgrass greens that are fast with big slopes.
“It’s not a bad place to prepare for Augusta,” McIlroy said Wednesday. “Climate’s going to be a bit different, but it’s not bad preparation. Obviously, it’s on the other side of the country. But when you think about the courses that we play leading up to Augusta, they’re all Bermuda for the most part. It’s Florida. It’s a different test and a different setup.
“I think here this week and Sherwood next week, I think that’s going to be a lot of guys’ last event before Augusta.”
Most of them are happy to have the opportunity.
The CJ Cup (South Korea) and the Zozo Championship (Japan) likely would not have attracted top players unwilling to travel that far during a pandemic, especially with the Masters having been pushed back to November. Both tournaments have limited fields with no cuts and big money.
The Zozo Championship next week is at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, California. That will be followed by the Bermuda Championship and Houston Open ahead of the Masters on Nov. 12-15.
“I think a lot of guys are really happy that they’ve got these two events to play and see where their game is,” McIlroy said. “These are obviously big events in their own right, but looking ahead for a few week’s time.”
Shadow Creek adds to the prestige as the elite club in Las Vegas, a Tom Fazio-design with a list of members that range from former U.S. presidents to Michael Jordan and Derek Jeter to actors Sylvester Stallone and Matt Damon.
The condition is mint. Justin Rose said they were the best greens he has played this side of Augusta National and Muirfield Village, home of the Memorial.
It last was seen on television two years ago when Phil Mickelson beat Tiger Woods in a $9 million winner-take-all match as golf delved into pay-per-view, which turned out to be free because of technical glitches.
“I definitely look at that as our key event this fall,” Rickie Fowler said. “With CJ bringing the tournament here to Shadow, I think is is actually a great place to have a little checkpoint of where things are leading up to Augusta. The greens could be fairly similar in areas to what we may see at Augusta.”
The CJ Cup marks the return of Brooks Koepka after two months off to heal a left hip injury, a byproduct of a knee injury he had been dealing with since last year. Several others, such as defending champion Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele, have not played since the U.S. Open.
Rose, Shane Lowery and Tommy Fleetwood are among those who were outside London last week for the European Tour flagship event, finding it well worth it to cross eight time zones to tee it up at Shadow Creek.
As much emphasis as there is on the greens, McIlroy arrived in Las Vegas talking about length _ specifically Bryson DeChambeau’s method of hitting it as far as he could on his way to winning the U.S. Open.
McIlroy isn’t about to add 40 pounds of muscle and mass. But he is trying to add speed to his swing, even if he doesn’t catch up to the 200 mph ball speed DeChambeau is approaching.
“Having length is an advantage and I’ve always been pretty long,” McIlroy said. “I think what I want to do is at least know that I have it if I need it. I’m not going to try to do it all the time, I’m not trying to get my ball speed into the 190s every time I hit a driver, but at least I know that if I need to do it, I can do it.”
DeChambeau is home in Dallas for a month working on a 48-inch driver for the Masters. McIlroy is at Shadow Creek and Sherwood the next two weeks. Both are thinking about the Masters in their own way.
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Dustin Johnson out of CJ Cup after positive coronavirus test
Dustin Johnson (Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS – Dustin Johnson became the most prominent player to test positive for the coronavirus since golf resumed in June, forcing him to withdraw Tuesday from the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek.
The PGA Tour said in a statement that Johnson notified officials he was experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and was given another test that came back positive.
Johnson is the No. 1 player in the world and the reigning PGA Tour player of the year after winning the FedEx Cup for the first time. He has not played since he tied for sixth at the U.S. Open last month.
“Obviously, I am very disappointed,” Johnson said in a statement. “I was really looking forward to competing this week, but will do everything I can to return as quickly as possible. I have already had a few calls with the tour’s medical team and appreciate all the support and guidance they have given me.”
Johnson did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Johnson is the 12th player to test positive at a tournament or at home since the PGA Tour resumed its schedule on June 8. The tour said a small number of players tested positive at home and chose to keep it private.
It comes one week after Tony Finau, at No. 16 in the world, tested positive with minor symptoms and withdrew from the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas.
Johnson holds the course record at Shadow Creek after its latest renovation, posting a 7-under 65 five years ago while playing with hockey great Wayne Gretzky, the father of Johnson’s partner Paulina Gretzky.
Still to be determined is whether Johnson is able to play the Zozo Championship at Sherwood next week in Thousand Oaks, California. Johnson is a member at Sherwood Country Club, where he spends a lot of time with Gretzky.
“He was really, really looking forward to these two weeks,” said David Winkle, his manager at Hambric Sports.
Winkle said Johnson came out to Las Vegas early to practice, and he received a negative test on Sunday.
“But then he started experiencing symptoms later that night,” Winkle said. “He took it easy on Monday and thought maybe he was coming down with a cold. He had a little chest congestion. He went back and was tested this morning.”
Under the protocols on the PGA Tour, which are based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Johnson is to self-isolate for 10 days dating to when he first experienced symptoms and can return if there are no other symptoms.
That would leave open the possibility of Johnson playing next week at Sherwood, provided he would want to play having gone 10 days without being able to prepare.
Most of the world’s best players are in Las Vegas and California for two weeks as part of their preparations for the Masters. Johnson is scheduled to play the Houston Open on Nov. 5-8 a week before the Masters.
Finau experienced symptoms last weekend, meaning he was eligible to be at Shadow Creek on Wednesday to start practicing. Instead, he chose to withdraw.
Laird redeems himself in playoff to win again in Las Vegas; Gligic top Canadian at T27
Martin Laird (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Canadian Press
LAS VEGAS – Martin Laird lost a chance to win by making bogey on the 18th hole, only to redeem himself in a three-way playoff by making a 20-foot birdie putt on the second extra hole Sunday to win the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
Laird ended seven years without a victory in a year filled with so much doubt, which included knee surgery right about the time golf was set to resume from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 37-year-old Scot suddenly is flying high.
He needed a sponsor exemption to play the tournament he won in 2009. He ended it with a birdie to beat Matthew Wolff and Austin Cook. It was the third three-man playoff in Las Vegas for Laird, who won in 2009 and lost the following year when Jonathan Byrd made a hole-in-one on the 17th hole at the TPC Summerlin.
Laird contributed a pair of big shots on the par 3.
He had a one-shot lead with two holes to play Sunday when he sent his tee shot on the par-3 17th off a cart path and some 30 yards right of the green with the pin to the right. He hit a chip-and-run over the cart path, under the trees, between a pair of bunkers and then made a most improbable par with an 18-foot putt.
But he missed the green to the right on the 18th and chipped to 30 feet, two-putting for bogey and a 3-under 68 to fall into a playoff at 23-under 261 with Wolff and Cook, who each closed with a 66.
They all made par on the 18th in the playoff, and then Laird ended it on the 17th with his birdie. Laird, at No. 358 in the world, becomes the third winner in the last four regular PGA Tour events to be ranked outside the top 300.
Now he has a two-year exemption, and he’s headed back to the Masters in April and the PGA Championship in May.
Laird appeared to have everything going his way when he caught a buried lie near the lip of a bunker while facing a front pin on the par-5 ninth. He blasted away, turned his head and looked back to see the superb shot trickle into the cup for eagle. That gave him a three-shot lead heading to the back nine.
But he couldn’t hold it.
Cook never really went away, closing within one shot with a 40-foot birdie putt on the 17th and burning the edge of the cup on his birdie attempt on the closing hole. Wolff was never far away and arrived in a powerful burst with a two-putt birdie on the reachable par-4 15th, blasting a 375-yard drive on the par-5 16th and stuffing wedge to 10 feet for eagle.
Laird never lost the lead, though he was grinding to the finish line. He had to make a 15-foot birdie putt on the 15th, the easiest hole at TPC Summerlin. He played away from the flag and water on the par-5 16th to 70 feet and came up 15 feet short, leading to a three-putt par.
And then he made his great escape on the 17th after a tee shot off the cart path. A par on the 18th was all he needed for the victory, and he hung it out to the right, down to a collection area with a drain a yard in front of his ball.
Patrick Cantlay, who shared the 54-hole lead with Laird, was the biggest surprise of the day. Cantlay won the tournament in 2017 and was runner-up each of the last two years. Fourteen of his 15 rounds at the TPC Summerlin were under par. He opened with four bogeys in six holes and didn’t make birdie until the 13th, closing with a 73.
U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau closed with a 66, and that was the worst he could have done. With a helping wind, he played the par 5s on the back nine in 1 over. He also bogeyed the last from a bunker.
He tied for eighth in his first appearance since becoming a major champion at Winged Foot, and he now goes back to the lab – or the gym, in his case – for the next month before resurfacing at the Masters.
Abraham Ancer birdied the last two holes for a 67 to finish alone in fourth. Will Zalatoris closed with a 69 for a three-way tie for fifth, leaving him just short of enough FedEx Cup points to earn special temporary membership on the PGA Tour. His next chance is in three weeks in Bermuda.
Michael Gilgic of Burlington, Ont., finished tied for 27th place at 14-under. Adam Hadwin of Abbortsford, B.C., finished in a nine-way tie for 34th at 13-under.
Henderson finishes 6th at KPMG Women’s PGA Championship
Brooke Henderson (Getty Images)
Canadian Press
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Sei Young Kim lined up for the putt on the 18th hole that would seal her first LPGA major championship and somehow missed by inches. One member of the gallery – in this instance, roughly 75 officials, photographers and course stragglers – even said “she made it.”
Not quite.
The 27-year-old South Korean laughed off the rare misstep, tapped in the winner and shed the unwelcome label of winningest golfer on the tour without a major. Kim raised her arms “Rocky” style, hugged her caddie and, at last, was a major champion.
Kim chewed up Aronimink Golf Club in record style, shooting a 7-under 63 on Sunday to win the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She was five strokes better than runner-up Inbee Park, never seriously challenged on the arduous course in suburban Philadelphia.
“I’m actually really hiding my tears at the moment,” she said, standing next to the trophy.
Her dominance was in plain sight. She finished at 14-under 266. Her final-round 63 tied a tournament record, and her 266 set the championship scoring record.
Kim, who earned her 11th LPGA victory, got the championship push rolling when she matched a tournament record with a 29 on the front nine on Friday. She never really slowed down.
About the only surprise Sunday came when her father appeared on a video chat toward the end of her press conference.
“See you soon,” Kim said with a smile and a wave.
She was, Park said, “really untouchable.”
Park, a three-time winner of this championship, shot a 5-under 65. Park won the Women’s PGA Championship in 2015 and Kim was in the first group of people on the course to celebrate with her.
Five years later, it was Kim’s time to hoist the trophy.
Kim, a 2016 Olympian, was runner-up at the 2015 Women’s PGA Championship and tied for second at the Evian Championship in 2018. Kim held the 54-hole lead at a major once, at the 2015 ANA Inspiration, where she finished in a tie for fourth.
She clinched the championship with a round to remember at Aronimink. Kim’s fifth birdie of the day at the par-3 14th gave her a four-shot lead over Park and put her at 12 under for the championship.
She earned $645,000 for the victory. Kim has at least one win in every LPGA Tour season since 2015.
“It was just so hard to believe that she never won a major before because it felt like she won a few,” Park said.
Nasa Hataoka and Carlota Ciganda tied for third at 7 under. Anna Nordqvist (4 under) and Canada’s Brooke Henderson (3 under) both played in Kim’s group and finished fifth and sixth.
Henderson, of Smiths Falls, Ont., won the event in 2016. Hamilton’s Alena Sharp tied for 48th place.
Kim is the latest addition to a growing list of first-time major winners in recent years, a sign of growing parity. Her victory means nine of the last 10 major champions had never won one before. She joins Sophia Popov (Women’s British Open) and Mirim Lee (ANA Inspiration) as this year’s major champions.
Kim dazzled at another event without the roar of the galleries — though Toronto Raptors star Kyle Lowry walked the course — and held off a hard-charging Park. Park had three birdies on the front nine as she tried to match Mickey Wright with a record fourth win at the Women’s PGA Championship.
“I thought 65 will definitely do it,” Park said. “I was thinking maybe like 5 to 6 under is a good number to kind of post and just see what happens. But obviously Sei Young was just much better than anyone else out there today.”
As she approached 18, the trophy sitting out near the hole for her to see, pretty much everyone out at Aronimink lined the ropes. She got a big ovation after her tap-in sealed the win.
Kim waved to the crowd and was doused in champagne as she walked off the course.
With Paul Fusco on the bag, Kim matched a tournament record with a 29 on the front nine on Friday and shot a 32 for the front nine on Sunday. Fusco kept it loose, even walking over to compliment a reporter for a story (“really cool”) before Kim teed off on No. 8.
“Before I came to the U.S., I actually saw Paul, and I saw how he prepared for each tournament, and I told myself I want to have him on my bag,” Kim said.
Kim hit the putt of her life last November at Tiburon Golf Club, a 25-foot birdie on the final hole of the CME Group Tour Championship to win $1.5 million, the richest prize in the history of women’s golf.
The money is far less at Aronimink – but the prestige of winning a major means so much more.
“I won’t lie, I did feel the pressure starting last night,” Kim said. “I actually arrived about 30 minutes later than I normally do at the golf course. I really tried to stay composed during the tournament, during the round, and I’m happy that I got it done.”
The tournament was delayed three months because of the coronavirus pandemic, landing its final round smack on a packed sports Sunday. The PGA of America had to get creative with the tee times with NBC having other programming commitments on the weekend and the leaders – including Kim – teed off at 8:49 a.m.
Founded in 1896, Aronimink has hosted a number of significant golf events during its storied history, including the 1962 PGA Championship won by Gary Player. Aronimink’s golf course was designed by Donald Ross in 1926 and is off the major schedule until the PGA Championship in 2026.
LAS VEGAS – Tied for the lead going into the weekend, Patrick Cantlay already was four shots behind before he hit his opening tee shot Saturday in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
That didn’t bother him in the least. He knows what to expect at the TPC Summerlin.
A tee shot so far left on the 10th hole that he had to hit a provisional? That made him a little anxious, but only until he found his original, hit wedge to 4 feet for birdie and began his climb back to where he started.
When the third round ended, Cantlay and Martin Laird each had a 6-under 65 without making it look terribly special and were tied for the lead. Both got their first PGA Tour victory at this tournament. Both have lost in a playoff. Both have played it enough times to realize birdie opportunities are there for everyone.
Canadian Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., made noise himself, shooting a 9-under 62 to climb into a tie for 9th. Countryman Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont., sits one back of Hadwin at 15 under par in a tie for 14th.
U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau was among the exceptions.
He had a pair of double bogeys and back-to-back bogeys, all before he reached the seventh hole. At that point he was 5 over in a five-hole stretch, which he said felt more like 12 over on a course like the TPC Sumerlin. He rallied enough for a 71, though he was seven shots behind and had 30 players in front of him.
“Yeah, it was really weird,” he said. “I don’t know. It’s golf, right?”
Those 30 players ahead of him starts with Cantlay and Laird at 20-under 193.
“I’m sure by the time I get to the golf course the lead will already be more than 20 under, which is what it’s going to be around here,” Cantlay said. “I think my strategy out here is to stay patient because I know there are so many birdie opportunities instead of pressing or feeling like I’m trailing, and realize that they’re out there if I hit good shots.”
Laird had one exciting moment when he holed a 50-foot eagle putt on No. 9. Otherwise, it was attacking flags when he could and playing for the fat of the green with it was too risky. Some wind late in the day made it a little tougher, but the scoring average still was 67.5.
“I have had good rounds every day, so I’m not going to change anything,” Laird said. “It’s been working and I’m in a good spot, so just keep going.”
Matthew Wolff got it started early. After making the cut with one shot to spare, Wolff had three eagles in a five-hole stretch and had to settle for pars on his final two holes for a 61.
Making three eagles at Summerlin is not unusual with a few short par 4s and all the par 5s easily reachable. Wolff, however, holed out on No. 11 from 116 yards. He drove the green on the 301-yard 15th hole to 15 feet and holed an 18-foot eagle putt on the par-5 13th.
He never really considered 59 because he was only 2 under on the front. He played the back in 8-under 28.
“If you only shoot 2 under on the front you feel like you never have a chance to shoot 59,” he said.
Wolff posted his 18-under 195 right as the last group was starting the third round, and it held until Laird was the first to get to 19 under with a birdie on the 13th.
Wyndham Clark (65), Brian Harman (67) and Austin Cool (67) also were at 195.
Na had a 64 and was three shots behind along with Will Zalatoris, who has a chance to earn special temporary membership with a strong finish Sunday. He already is leading the Korn Ferry Tour points list.
Cantlay picked up birdies where he expects to except on the short par-4 seventh, where his drive was hung out to the right and found a bunker, leaving a 70-yard sand shot that he did well to get within 12 feet for a two-putt par.
He expects to birdie the 10th, but not after hitting a provisional off the tee.
“I was hoping that it would be somewhat OK over there and I could make a par,” he said of his original tee shot. “Fortunately, it wasn’t that bad and I was able to hit a great shot, so that was a bonus.”
DeChambeau, playing for the last time before the Masters on Nov. 12-15, did too much damage early on to recover. A wild tee shot on No. 2 led to double bogey, and while he missed the fairway badly on No. 6, what led to the double bogey was a three-putt from 12 feet.
Four straight birdies on No. 8 steadied him – he nearly drove the 419-yard 10th – but not enough. He failed to convert on the short par-4 15th and dropped another shot coming in.
“Didn’t really hit bad shots, just didn’t go where I wanted to,” DeChambeau said. “Went into some really bad places and unfortunately didn’t save par from them. Just stuff didn’t go my way today, and it’s OK. Not a big deal.”
Brooke Henderson tied for 2nd ahead of Women’s PGA finale
Brooke Henderson (Getty Images)
Canadian Press
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Sei Young Kim has yet to splurge on the $1.5 million she won last year in the richest prize offered at a tournament in women’s golf.
“I’m just saving up for the future,” she said.
Winning the first major of her career just might be priceless. A 10-time LPGA Tour winner, the 27-year-old South Korean has the unwanted title of winningest active player without a major championship.
Kim went on another streaky run of birdies Saturday at Aronimink, shooting a 3-under 67 to hold the lead and positioning herself to put that label to rest at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
Kim sits at 7-under 203, two strokes ahead of Canada’s Brooke Henderson and Anna Nordqvist, and will try to win it Sunday on a rare early-morning tee time.
“I wouldn’t say I’m nervous, but I’m also excited about going into the final day,” Kim said.
The tournament was delayed three months because of the coronavirus pandemic, landing its final round smack on a packed sports Sunday. The PGA of America had to get creative with the tee times with NBC having other programming commitments on the weekend. Kim, Henderson and Nordqvist tee off at 8:49 a.m. and the last group goes off at 9:16 a.m. The TV window is noon to 2 p.m. on NBC.
“The only thing I have to keep in mind is that earlier tee times will be a little chillier temperaturewise, so I’ll make sure I have my hand warmers and be ready to play tomorrow,” Kim said.
Kim was runner-up at the 2015 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and tied for second at the Evian Championship in 2018. Kim held the 54-hole lead at a major once, at the 2015 ANA Inspiration, where she finished tied for fourth.
The last four winners of the tournament either led or co-led after 36 holes, and Kim played like a golfer poised to make it five.
Henderson, the Smiths Falls, Ont., native who won the 2016 Women’s PGA Championship, tied her career-best 18-hole score at a major championship with a 65 to stay within striking distance. Henderson had five birdies for a bogey-free round.
“Sometimes it’s hard to believe that I’m a major champion,” Henderson said. “But definitely in times like this it gives me a little bit of confidence, and I’m excited to try to do it again tomorrow.”
Nordqvist, who had five birdies and three bogeys, shot a 5-under 68 as she tries to win her third major championship.
Inbee Park is three strokes behind the leader and Bianca Pagdanganan shot a 65 for the second straight day to rally her way into fifth at 3 under. Pagdanganan hasn’t had a bogey since the first round.
Park is a three-time winner of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and would tie Mickey Wright for the most in a career with a win.
“I’d be lying if I said I don’t think about it, but it’s just too crazy to think something big like that, in the history of golf, history of this championship, is going to maybe have a slim chance of happening to me,” Park said.
It’s not happening to an underdog. There’s a four-way tie for sixth place on a leaderboard stacked with the top talent on the tour.
Kim matched a tournament record with a 29 on the front nine on Friday and followed that with a 32 on Saturday.
Kim bogeyed the 18th hole for one of her few missteps of the last two rounds. She impressed on No. 16, nearly making an eagle but using a short putt for birdie. She also birdied No. 15, holing a long putt to go 7 under.
“I feel like I’ve made a few nice mid-range putts, which helped me get the momentum,” she said.
Kim hit the putt of her life last November at Tiburon Golf Club, a 25-foot birdie on the final hole of the CME Group Tour Championship to win $1.5 million, the richest prize in the history of women’s golf.
“If I knew the answer to how to make clutch putts, I would have won so many more times,” Kim said.
The money is far less at Aronimink — the field is competing for a $4.3 million purse with the winner earning $645,000. But it pales to the prestige that goes with winning an LPGA major.
Just ask Nordqvist, the 2009 champ.
“It’s something that no one can take away from me, and it’s obviously one of my most proud moments as a pro,” she said. “It’s just a great feeling knowing that my name is on the trophy.”
She wants to put her name on it again, and so does Henderson. Standing in their way: the South Korean, with one big check, determined to leave Aronimink a major champion.
Brooke Henderson shoots 69 to move inside top 15 at Women’s PGA Championship
Brooke Henderson (Getty Images)
Canadian Press
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Sei Young Kim ignored the manually operated leaderboards dotted around Aronimink as she started to rally her way into contention.
“I was in a good momentum, so I just wanted to ride on that,” Kim said.
By the time she finished sinking birdie after birdie en route toward matching a record round, Kim could afford a peek at the board: Her name was on top.
Kim birdied five of the final six holes as darkness fell Friday at Aronimink for a 5-under 65 and the second-round lead in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.
The 27-year-old South Korean closed with a 6-under 29 on the front nine. She dropped early strokes on Nos. 11 and 12 and made her lone first-nine birdie on the par-5 16th.
“When we entered the front nine, the wind kind of slowed down and it was kind of easier to attack with my irons,” she said.
Kim had a 4-under 136 total at rugged 6,437-yard Aronimink. She tied Karrie Webb (2001) and Sarah Kemp (2011) for the lowest nine-hole score in the Women’s PGA Championship.
“The birdie on 14 was pretty good because it was a long birdie putt, and that’s when I started the four-birdie streak,” Kim said. “So I think that really helped me with momentum and finishing strong.”
A 10-time LPGA Tour winner, Kim is looking for her first major victory. She was runner-up at the 2015 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and tied for second at the Evian Championship in 2018.
The last four winners of the tournament either led or co-led after 36 holes.
Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., fired a 69 to get back to even par heading into the weekend, while Hamilton’s Alena Sharp shot a 74 and is 4 over, good enough to make the 6-over cut line. Henderson won the tournament in 2016.
Jennifer Kupcho (65), Danielle Kang (69), Carlota Ciganda (69) and Anna Nordqvist (68) were a stroke back.
Kupcho was second last weekend in the ShopRite LPGA Classic and said a run at the championship left her exhausted.
The 23-year-old Kupcho hit all 18 greens in regulation.
Kupcho — winner of the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur — has yet to transfer the success of her celebrated collegiate career over to the LPGA Tour. She was the No. 1 ranked amateur at Wake Forest and won the 2018 NCAA Division I Golf Championship. At majors, she failed to make the cut four times, including at the last two Women’s British Opens.
At Aronimink, Kupcho went back to what worked for her in college. She decided to use the Ping i210 irons she played with as an amateur after a talk with her parents.
Kupcho, who also brought on a new caddie in Kyle Alexander, played each nine at Aronimink only once leading into the tournament and found the unfamiliarity with the sloped greens may have worked to her advantage.
“Going into last week, I was not prepared, like I felt completely unprepared,” she said. “I felt the same way coming into this week. I didn’t feel like I was ready to come play this type of a golf course. I think not being prepared brings another challenge for me, and I think that’s what helps me play well.”
Kang, the 2017 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship winner, also is in the hunt for her second career major. If she gets it, it will come on one of the tougher courses this season on the tour.
Kang visualized she was in a putting contest with her brother in a bid to loosen up and steady her short game, and promptly sank a 15-footer to close out the 12th hole.
“There is no right shot, but there are wrong misses,” she said. “That creates that opportunity of really tough up-and-downs. A couple times I hit a really good shot and I got penalized for hitting a good shot, but I just didn’t think far enough to not hit it there.”
Ciganda, a 30-year-old Spaniard, suffered through a lengthy bout of COVID-19 earlier this year that left her quarantined in her Arizona apartment for at least a month. She said at least three tests over that span came back positive and she needed at least another month and a half after her first negative to truly start to feel completely healthy. A two-time winner on the LPGA Tour, Ciganda suffered from memory issues, fatigue and weight loss during her ordeal.
“I’m happy that I’m playing again and feeling pretty good again,” she said.
Nelly Korda, the No. 2-ranked player in the world, dropped out with a back injury after she shot a 71 in the opening round. ANA Inspiration winner Mirim Lee also withdrew because of an injury.
Su Oh, at 5 over at the time, had perhaps the shot of the day on 16 when she lofted one out of the green-side bunker and sank the first eagle of the tournament.
There are only 13 players under par through the second round.
Ian Leggatt named GM of St. George’s Golf & Country Club
TORONTO, ON – St. George’s Golf and Country Club welcomes Ian Leggatt as General Manager effective November 2, 2020. Leggatt comes to St. George’s from nearby Summit Golf Club, where he held the General Manager position.
Ian brings a unique background to the position as a former PGA Touring Professional, and winner of the 2002 Tucson Open. He has spent the last eight years leading a successful operation at Summit Golf Club. He is a proven leader with an established reputation and track record of translating his vision and passion for golf into meaningful cultural changes.
“We are very excited to welcome Ian to St. George’s,” said John Ciardullo, Chair of the Board. “The Board of Directors and Search Committee was unanimous in selecting Ian among highly qualified candidates from Canada, the United States, and Europe. Ian’s golf-centric background and his real vision for delivering an exceptional Member experience are precisely the skills and talents that will position St. George’s for long-term success in Canada and will elevate the Club’s international reputation.”
“It is an honour to be the General Manager of St. George’s Golf and Country Club. The Club’s iconic standing in Canadian golf, along with its global presence, truly excites me,“ says Leggatt. “It is the cultural presence of the game that differentiates great clubs from good ones. I look forward to enhancing the culture of golf at St. George’s and delivering a world-class golf experience.”
Leggatt’s November start date proves timely with St. George’s poised to host the 111th RBC Canadian Open in 2021 after the event was postponed in 2020 due to the ongoing global pandemic.
St. George’s Golf and Country Club was designed by Stanley Thompson in 1929 and is currently ranked #23 in the world by Golf Digest and is the highest Canadian rated 5-Star Platinum Club. The classically designed course has played host to the Senior PGA Tour, LPGA Peter Jackson/Du Maurier Classic on five occasions, and the Canadian Open in 1933, 1949, 1960, 1968, and 2010.
Sergio Garcia birdies final hole to win in Mississippi; Conners T17
Sergio Garcia (Getty Images)
Canadian Press with files from Golf Canada
JACKSON, Miss. – Sergio Garcia delivered two key shots on the back nine, the last one an 8-iron to 30 inches on the final hole for birdie and a one-shot victory in the Sanderson Farms Championship.
Garcia closed with a 5-under 67 and won for the 10th consecutive year worldwide, and the first time on the PGA Tour since the 2017 Masters.
Peter Malnati, whose lose PGA Tour victory came at this tournament five years ago, closed with a career-best 63 and waited nearly two hours to see if it would hold up.
It almost did.
Garcia was two shots behind when he hit 5-wood on the par-5 14th that narrowly cleared a bunker, hitting in the top collar, onto the fringe and rolling out to just inside 4 feet for eagle to tie for the lead.
He had to save par from a bunker with a 5-foot putt on the 15th after a poor tee shot, and then he delivered the winner with a big tee shot on the 18th and an 8-iron from 171 yards. Garcia immediately began walking after the shot, and it dropped down next to the hole and settled right behind it.
Closing his eyes right before the stroke, a habit he returned to this week, he made it and clenched his fist with a grin not seen on the 40-year-old Spaniard lately.
One week after falling out of the top 50 in the world for the first time since 2011, Garcia won for the 11th time on the PGA Tour and the 31st time worldwide. He finished at 19-under 269.
J.T. Poston, who started the final round in at three-way tie with Garcia and Cameron Davis of Australia, was one shot behind when he missed the 16th fairway to the right, went into a bunker and failed to save par. He finished with two pars for a 70 to finish alone in third.
Davis had three bogeys on the front nine and was never a factor, closing with a 72.
Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., carded a final round, 2-under 70 to finish as top Canadian in a tie for 17th place. Fellow countrymen Roger Sloan (Merritt, B.C.) finished T32 and Michael Gligic (Burlington, Ont.) at T37.
